United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (in full: The United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is one of the playable factions in R.U.S.E.. Made up of the individual nations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, these four nations contribute to Her Majesty's Armed Forces, which are further broken down into the British Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Navy. Additionally, former members of the British Empire such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have contributed both materiel and manpower to the Armed Forces of Britain. Despite the overarching formal title, the British Army is specifically considered the military of parliament, and not the crown, as a result of the English Civil War and affirmed in the 1689 English Bill of Rights. However, though the Prime Minister of Britain is the de facto leader of the British Army, the Queen of England still possesses the power to seize control of all aspects of Her Majesty's Armed Forces as its Commander-in-Chief. Description The United Kingdom has the best overall airforce in the game, with superb fighter-bombers, reliable fighters, and excellent heavy bombers. The United Kingdom, however, does not posses the best fighters in the game; the German jet powered fighter ME262 and Japanese Shinden can down any lone Spitfire class fighter. What makes the United Kingdom powerful in its fighter capability is the fact that it can field it's advanced fighter, the Spitfire, in 1939, the best fighter in that era, and that it only costs $20, very cheap for a fighter of it's strength. The United Kingdom also possess the second weakest tanks in the game, by performance rating, just slightly more effective than Italy's tanks. However, they do start with Recon bunkers which are great at protecting flanks from easy infantry attacks on your supply depots. But, they can keep up production at a constant level. However, as their strength is in the Air Force, and not in the ground, this faction can be really in a disadvantage, because most of their aircraft units are rather expensive. However, it is possible to fight a ground war as this faction. Units and Buildings Headquarters *Outpost Bunker (Recon) - Sandbagged observation post with wide perception and machine guns. Not as effective as other MG positions. *Anti-Tank Position - Anchored 57mm Anti-Tank cannon; moderately effective against basic armour. *Artillery Shelter - 105mm medium-range bombardment gun. Barracks *Regulars - Basic Infantry. Good against most units, save heavier armour. **Guards - Advanced Infantry. Improved effectiveness against enemy Infantry, but . *Vickers - Ultralight Tank. Built for anti-infantry combat. Artillery & AA Base *Bofors - 40mm Anti-Air and Bombardment cannon. Best deployed in groups. *Howitzer 87mm - 25-pounder artillery guns moderately effective. **Howitzer 140mm - Heavy Artillery. Slower than the 25-pounders, but better damage. *Sexton - Armoured Artillery. Same damage as the 25-pounders, but more durable against return fire. Armour Base *AC Mk.1 (Recon) - Light armoured Recon car. Well-equipped against infantry but, expensive. **Coventry Mk.2 (Recon) - Advanced Armoured Recon. Thicker armour and better weapons, as well as a small boost in speed. *Cruiser A13 - Medium-Light Tank. Poorly-equipped against enemy armour, but very fast. *Cromwell A27 - Advanced Medium Tank. Upgraded cannon and thicker armor, with no loss in speed compared to Cruiser A13. Good at skirmishing and as a battle tank. *Matilda - Heavy Tank. Outdated in design with poor 2-pounder main gun and very slow movement speed. The perfect meat shield. Anti-Tank Base *AT 2 pdr. - Basic 2-pounder gun. Moderately effective against light armour. **AT 17 pdr. - Heavier 17-pounder gun. Nearly twice as powerful as the 2-pounder. *Archer - 17-pounder gun mounted on outdated Valentine tank chassis. **Firefly - U.S. Sherman tanks, upgraded with British 17-pounder guns. Airfield *Anson (Recon) - Fragile recon, with a set of 7.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns. *C47 - Troop transport plane. Deploys paratroopers. *Paratroopers - Elite Infantry. Equivalent to Guards in terms of firepower. Do not need to be researched. *Spitfire - Fighter plane. Good at both strafing ground units and excels in dogfighting, available early in the game. and retain its edge into 1945. *Hurricane - Fighter-bomber. Armed with high-angle diving bomb and High Explosive (HE) bombs. **Typhoon - Advanced fighter-bomber. Bomb rack has been replaced with an explosive eight-rocket salvo. Very expensive, but these monsters can kill level 4 armor in one run. Average dogfighting capabilities. *Wellington - Medium Bomber. Armed with 'Blockbusters' and clusters of incendiary explosives. **Lancaster - Heavy Bomber. Carries an 8-tonne bomb payload, but is still faster than the lighter Wellington. Prototype Base *Skink - Armored Anti-aircraft Gun, with quad 20mm Polsten anti-aircraft cannons. As good as Wirbelwind. *AVRE - Heavy Assault Gun. Churchill armed with 290mm mortar dubbed 'Petard'. Equivalent to German Sturmtiger, but with a .26mm machine gun. *Churchill - Advanced Heavy Tank. Very heavily armored, but equipped with average 75mm cannon. History Historically, Britain was left to fend for itself in 1940, but it waged war superbly. The picture of a cool-headed Tommy Atkins has yet to die. Britain also had a worldwide empire to call on after France was knocked out in 1940. Despite losing early battles, Britain held on and used its powerful navy and air force to slowly gain the upper hand on the Axis. After the entry of Russia and finally, the United States into the war, Allied victory, while slow, was inevitable. Strategy and Tactics *British tanks are well armoured, but their tanks have either a 40mm weak cannon or a 75mm mediocre cannon. *As UK owns the most powerful air force, a flyboy strategy should be considered, supported by British heavy tanks. *British aircraft are some of the very best to be produced and placed in combat throughout the game, especially the Typhoon class fighter-bomber, with a heavier payload and faster flight speed to evade the enemy with than most other fighter bombers. *The outpost has a very long line of sight, these placed in the right location can be a good early warning system. *British have paratroopers as soon as they have an airfield deployed; no research required whatsoever. This makes for a great early attack and for harassing the enemy supply lines. Against an unwary opponent, paratroopers can even be used in a Blitzkrieg attack. *Although British armored units lack in firepower, they have very good armor. Use them as shields for tank destroyers. *British Spitfires are not only cheap and quick to produce but have good power in the air, especially in large numbers. Employ many of them early to counter infantry and achieve air superiority. *The Sherman Firefly tank destroyer is the only non-U.S. tank destroyer that has a turret. Combined with decent armor, a powerful gun, and a moderate price, these tanks are perfect frontline combat units, but should be placed directly behind heavy tanks. *The British AA and Artillery shouldn't be over-looked, as the Skink is equal to the Wirbelwind in AA firepower. British artillery can be a real pain, that is, to the enemy. *The British have the only Recon building, and it is also armed. Use it near important supply lines. *The Vickers light tank can be manufactured from a barracks, costing only $10 and showing up as heavy units, serving as a cheap decoy that can still fend for themselves. *British recon vehicles are quite expensive, making replacing them very costly, especially if you have a knack for getting your reconnaissance vehicles destroyed. Gallery RUSE_Card_Faction_UK.png|Faction card promo Historical TOG2_Tank_Bovington.jpg|A TOG II at Bovington tank museum. It is not seen in R.U.S.E. Dieppe-raid-recreation.jpg|Dieppe Raid artwork. See also * Category:Factions Category:United Kingdom